By Dr Noel Maturlu
You might have heard a classic story of a lion cub who lost his way and wandered into a flock of sheep. Alone and frightened, he stayed. The sheep didn’t roar—they bleated. They didn’t chase—they fled. And so he followed their rhythm. Their timidity became his normal. Their fears became his limits. The lion learned to graze, not hunt; to hide, not lead; to run, not rise.
Time passed, and he forgot he was a lion. He grew up thinking he was just another sheep. Whenever the roar of a lion echoed across the valley, the sheep scattered—and so did he. Even though something deep within him stirred, he silenced it. Until one day, everything changed. While drinking from a still stream, the lion saw his reflection. He didn’t see a sheep. He saw a lion. Strong. Noble. Fierce. The very image of the creature he had always feared—and fled. Shocked, he leaned closer. Could it be? Could the lion he had run from… actually be him?
The next time a lion’s roar rang through the valley, the sheep ran. But not him. This time, he ran too—but not away. He ran toward the roar. Toward his kind. Toward his calling. Toward his true self.
Many of us live like that lion. Raised among sheep, trained by people who didn’t know who we really were. Some meant well, some didn’t. But the result was the same—we learned to shrink. We learned to stay quiet. We absorbed their fears, inherited their insecurities, and believed their limits. We became like them, not because it was who we were, but because it was all we knew.
But what if it’s all been a lie?
What if you were never meant to settle, to hide, to survive? What if the greatness you’ve been afraid of was written into your very DNA?
The divine living clear water and mirror says you were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). That means you reflect His power, His creativity, His boldness. You are not ordinary. You are not random. You are not worthless. Jesus said, “You are gods, all of you are children of the Most High” (Psalm 82:6). That’s not arrogance—it’s identity. And Romans 8:17 declares you are a child of God, and if a child, then an heir—heir of God and co-heir with Christ.
You don’t have to earn worth—you were born with it. You don’t have to compete for blessing—it’s your inheritance. And you don’t have to remain what people called you. You are who God says you are.
The sheep may have shaped your habits, but they did not shape your heart. The lion was always there. The roar was always real. Now is the time to stop running from greatness and start walking in it.
But even lions raised by sheep need help remembering who they are.
That’s why you must surround yourself with lions—people who challenge you, stretch you, support you, and speak to the king or queen inside you. People who roar when you’ve forgotten how. Lions don’t envy each other’s strength—they awaken it. Don’t keep running with sheep when God is calling you to run with kings.
And don’t keep sabotaging good things—relationships, dreams, opportunities—because of old insecurities. You’re not unworthy. You’re just unawakened. You were never meant to graze in safe pastures while your soul starves. You were not created to fit in—you were born to stand out.
The lion in you is not lost. Just forgotten. But today, you’ve seen your reflection. You’ve tasted the truth. You know who you are now.
It’s time to stop running from greatness and start walking in it. You are not what they called you. You are not what fear says you are.
You are a lion. Made in the image of the King. Born to roar, not bleat. Born to lead, not follow. Born to rise.
It’s time to run—toward your pride, toward your purpose, toward your true identity.
So rise. Roar. And never look back.
May the love of God and His peace, which surpass all human understanding, fill your heart now and always.
